You rock my world!

You rock my world!


By Bibhushana Shrestha

It was an awfully wearisome day. Entering a class lecture was more like standing on a battlefield, defending myself from being caught unawares by the teacher in my state of drooping eyelids and swaying head. After all, who wants to sit the next forty-five minutes in front of the classroom?

But there was something more that day: the seat next to mine was vacant. The finding of this reality check made a chill run down my spine. Everything flowed back into my mind — all those memories, so fresh yet so painful. I remembered every single day from the very start.

*****

Raindrops trickling down my forehead, I waited for my new roommate. It was the start of a new academic year and a few new students were being added. Like some other students of the batch, I was also assigned a room with a new arrival. So here I was, standing in the rain for half an hour and this “new” friend of mine had not shown up yet. After waiting for a couple of minutes more, I decided to get inside the room. Then I heard a screeching sound of an engine coming to a halt. First went up a black umbrella and then she came out. Dressed up in white kameez and denim, she had a magnificent figure. Tall with a slightly darker complexion, she looked simply beautiful.

I escorted her to our room. That evening we barely spoke a word to each other. I didn't know what was going through her mind but I was annoyed with her for making me wait in that cold rain.

Next morning, she woke me up. As usual, I was getting late for my classes. While I freshened up, we chatted a bit. I found out that her name was Pratistha. By the time we entered the classroom, we were already bonded in friendship. I introduced her to my other friends.

We were engrossed in our girlie chat when this new boy entered the classroom. Hearing his voice, Pratistha stopped talking and looked back.

She said, "Hey, I know that guy. His name is Pramod. We were together in the crash course for the entrance preparation. He's very brilliant.

No doubt about that. He was already discussing Hubble's telescope with someone.

But the twinkle in Pratistha's eyes told me something more.

Back in our hostel room, we settled down to finish our assignments. I couldn't resist asking her about Pramod. She slowly poured out everything that was in her heart.

“It was love at first sight,” she said. Every time she saw him, her cheeks would go red. She told me all about those moments when she used to pray to God for his just one look at her, and about those breathtaking moments when he glided past her. She was completely crazy about him.

But I was shocked when I learned that she hadn't talked to him even once. Our conversation lasted till two in the morning. Our eyes were swollen as we woke up the following day, obviously very late.

The next week was full of mischief. Our main aim was to get Pramod's attention all over Pratistha. I still remember how she liked me helping around to get her love of a lifetime. We became the last benchers in the class, while still maintaining our excellent academic positions. But the very presence of him made her feel lively. I saw her with a shy smile plastered on her face if he was around. Counting the number of times he shot a look at her in a minute was her mission, even though the frequencies turned out to be much lesser than I expected.

As time went by, I realized that Pratistha was a true friend indeed and in deeds. She helped me out with the subjects that I was weaker in. This made me more aware of my responsibility to her as a friend. I tried to inculcate in her the courage to walk to Pramod and at least say “Hi!”

But it was all in vain. She just couldn't gather enough grit to confront him. She lived in her own small world of dreams. She loved him but couldn't tell him so. In retrospect, I think it's a common love problem. However, this one was a little more complicated. The fury of possessing Pramod for herself, I'm sure, fused into Pratistha's madness. At times, she mumbled his name in her sleep, scaring me in the middle of the night.

*****

One day, we saw him come straight to our hostel with a red rose in his hand. Poor Pratistha was nervous and shaking all over. I held her as we stood with our fingers crossed. Then something happened. Another resident, Anima, popped out of the hostel gate. He offered her the rose.

Anima was at the height of her happiness. I slowly turned my head towards my friend. She sat there — emotionless, calm and mute. But her eyes spoke a thousand words. I would never forget the agony of pain that reflected in her eyes. She was frozen like a stone and I stood helplessly behind her, watching Pramod and Anima talk merrily.

I had no idea what to say or what not to. Then she stood up and headed to the bathroom. Leaving her on her own was the only thing I could do at that time.

*****

“Bibhushana!”

The voice of my teacher yanked me to reality. I wiped the tears from my eyes and stood up. Before he could say anything, I asked for permission to go to the restroom. On my way, I recalled how other friends had woken me up the other day. I had slept on the floor waiting for Pratistha to come out of the bathroom.

Instead, my classmates had handed me the note she had left behind. It read:

Pramod,

You rock my world……………

Pratistha was nowhere to be found since then.

Posted on: 2007-02-17 22:23:53 (Server Time)
Published on Kantipur publications